JIAZHEN CAIillustrator, designer, creative
about meimcaijiazhen@gmail.com    
蔡佳臻 Jiazhen Cai is an illustrator and designer living in London. Before moving into this character, she was a ceramicist and potter. She believes that everyday using ware can bring sparks of life, and she is interested in Kintsugi which gives a new journey to things.

Jiazhen’s illustration work specialises in fostering comprehension through visual storytelling. Her diverse portfolio touches on subjects include literature, opinion, food and drink, lifestyle, culture, and site, employing a blend of graphic illustration and dynamic narrative.


Selected Clients

Penguin Random House | Harper’s Green BAZAAR China | Sanlian Lifeweek | Nylon | T Magazine | Hario | ELLEMEN | Carrara Coffee Roasters |  Wandsworth Borough Council | Coffee T&I Magazine | FánHuā Chinese Film Festival | Popshot Quarterly Magazine | Avatr

Features & Media

2024   Hiii Illustration Live Event
2023   The Creative Occupation
2022   Hiiibrand Winners Recommend
2022   CoArtist Project


Honors

2024   The Cheltenham Illustration Awards 2024, Emerging and Established Category
2024   The 9th China Illustration Biennial, Merit Award of Professional Publication Category
2023   iJungle Illustration Awards 2022, Commercial Merit Award
2022   The 9th Hiii Illustration Awards, Best of The Best of Publisher Category
2022   Shortlist of Communication Arts 2022 Illustration Competition
2022   Longlist of The Third Brightness Illustration Awards
2022   Honorable Mention of ARFF International 2021 Season
2021    Nominated for the ARFF Berlin 2021 // International Awards
2021    ARFF International // Berlin Monthly Edition Official Selection
2020   iJungle Illustration Awards 2020, New Talent Merit Award
2019    The 7th Hiii Illustration Awards, Merit Award of Noncommercial
2019    Creative Quarterly 56, Award of Excellence
2019    Adobe Design Achievement Awards, Top Talent of Illustration
2018    Graduation Show of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Third Place


Hario Artist Edition

To celebrate 5.20 Valentine’s Day with Hario Shanghai, the design is created exclusively for  Hario Cold Brew Bottle, artist edition. The illustration is inspired by Chinese folk beliefs and art of tango, to represent love, expression and dance.
commercial project


    Food & Wine
    Co-branded M    enu

    A series of illustrations for FOOD & WINE Media's co-branded menu event based on bars, cafés, and restaurants in Beijing and Chengdu and their seasonal ingredients and menus. The images are shown on FOOD & WINE e-commerce, media and campaign sites.

    commercial project


    Green BAZAAR

    Illustrations created for the first issue of Harper’s Green BAZAAR China, released in March 2025 in China.

    editorial project


    Penguin
    Bloom As You Are

    This illustration project features a series of cover designs for Bloom As You Are, a collection of four literary classics published by Penguin Random House (Beijing) in collaboration with Zhongxi Press. The series centres around themes of female empowerment and personal growth, encouraging women to embrace their own journey and bloom in life.


    The design encompasses four book covers, endpapers, title pages, a set of custom icons, and an envelope packaging cover.


    publication project


    Penguin Classics
    Book Cover

    Cover illustration for Penguin Classics series, Aesop's Fables, marketed by Penguin Random House (Beijing) and published by Tiandi Press.

    publication project


    Penguin Classics
    Book Cover

    Cover illustration for Penguin Classics series, Gulliver's Travels, marketed by Penguin Random House (Beijing) and published by Tiandi Press. 

    publication project


    Omakase

    A series of illustrations accompanying an article on Omakase and Asian-American identity, capturing the intimate, complex journey of Asian-American women as they navigate love, heritage, and the layered echoes of immigration.


    editorial project


    ELLEMEN

    Commissioned by ELLEMEN China for the September 2024 issue Reading Recommendation page. The work captures the essence of late summer and the pleasures of reading, evoking the joy of moments immersed in pages, along with the sensations, textures, and even the subtle fragrances of late summer's melting heat.

    editorial project


    ASHORE Café

    ASHORE Café is a newly established coffee bar founded in Taicang, China in 2023. ASHORE Café provides high-quality coffee and drinks using carefully picked coffee beans and ingredients.

    The project includes design and art direction of logo, brand guideline and e-commerce illustrations.

    commercial project